Schick mobile game, Twitch stream raise money for cancer research

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Brief:

Schick Xtreme, the brand of razors marketed by Edgewell Personal Care, created a mobile game that helps to raise money for cancer research. "Shave The Day" challenges gamers to guide a bald superhero named XtremeMan through an obstacle course while shaving heads and collecting digital coins, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.

Schick at the end the game will turn those coins, called Bald Bucks, into a real donation to the St. Baldrick's Foundation for childhood cancer research. The brand has pledged as much as $250,000 to the nonprofit group and is giving gamers a chance to make individual donations in the game.

The brand enlisted Twitch streamers Aydan and NMPLOL to set personal donation goals and play "Shave The Day" in a livestream, after which they will shave their heads when donation goals are met. The game, which was co-designed by game developer Playcrafting, is available to download for free from Apple's App Store and Google Play, per the announcement.

Insight:

Schick's original mobile game is a novel way to engage mobile consumers and Twitch users in a branded experience while raising money for a good cause. "Shave The Day" is designed for a mass audience with a format resembling popular 3D running games like "Temple Run" or "Subway Surfers" that can be mastered quickly.

More than half (60%) of Americans play mobile games, making smartphones more popular than other platforms like PCs and consoles for video games, per the EEDAR Gamer Segmentation Report from researcher NPD Group. The popularity of mobile gaming increases the likelihood that consumers will download Schick's game.

By enlisting influencers who livestream their gaming sessions on Amazon-owned Twitch for its fundraising effort, Schick seeks to reach an audience of people who are stuck indoors during the coronavirus pandemic. Viewership of Twitch's gaming content surged 50% to a record 1.49 billion hours in April from the prior month, exceeding the average 45% gain among livestreaming platforms, per a report by StreamElements and analytics firm Arsenal.gg. Twitch's viewership exceeds the hours watched for rivals such as YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming and Microsoft's Mixer, the study found.

Schick's mobile game and campaign on Twitch comes a month after its Schick Hydro brand enlisted barbers who are out of work because of pandemic lockdowns to create virtual grooming tutorials on Instagram. The #ShaveFromHome effort raised money for the National Association of Barbers, which distributed the proceeds to out-of-work and independent barbers throughout the U.S.

Schick's cause-driven campaigns are more likely to connect with consumers who want to see brands helping others, a sentiment that has led Cottonelle, Honda, Michelob Ultra, Pebbles cereal and Snapchat to tout their efforts to provide relief to people during the pandemic.​​